What is the definition of genocide?

• A. The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, national, or religious group.
• B. The voluntary relocation of a population within a country.
• C. The spontaneous decline of a population due to natural causes.
• D. The peaceful coexistence of groups with different beliefs.

Answer: (A)

Genocide is defined by the deliberate and systematic destruction of a protected group. That means the act isn’t a spontaneous or isolated crime; there is intent to wipe out the group and it is carried out in an organized way. The groups protected under this definition are racial, ethnic, national, or religious communities, and “destruction” can take multiple forms: killing members, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group’s destruction, measures intended to prevent births, or forcibly transferring children to another group. This combination of intent, planning, and targeting of a specific group distinguishes genocide from other harms or displacements. The other options describe relocation, natural decline, or peaceful coexistence, none of which involve the intentional, organized destruction of a protected group.